From April 16 to 22, five officials from the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine visited Japan at the invitation of JICA. They visited farmers in the affected areas of the Great East Japan Earthquake that happened in 2011. The farmers have been working on reconstruction.

Yamamoto-cho in Miyagi Prefecture where the Yamamoto Strawberry Farm is located suffered from devastating damage: with 97% of farmers affected and about 85% of farmland unusable.

Against such backdrop, Mr. Iwasa Takashi who is a strawberry farmer resumed strawberry farming just three months after the disaster. He says, "To me, it was very important to restart farming operations soon after the earthquake in the affected areas and to contribute to the recovery of the region, especially through job creation and the training of young farmers.” Recently, Mr. Iwasa is focusing on employing people with disabilities. Greenhouse farming, aiming for adding value, is more labor-intensive compared with large-scale open-field farming such as wheat.

A Ukrainian Deputy Minister Markyan has high hopes for this, saying "Greenhouse farming could create jobs for war wounded and former displaced persons who have returned to Ukraine." He was impressed by the farmers’ passion for strawberry farming. Mr. Iwasa said, "Back then, we were desperate for reconstruction each day. Now, seeing Ukrainian people making efforts to build back better made me re-realize we have to work harder.” JICA also expects to contribute to Ukraine's reconstruction through Japan's experience. JICA will continue providing support in the future.

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